


Purple Haze

by TheRealDanniX



Series: Adventures in Mind Reading [4]
Category: The Witcher (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg, Blood and Injury, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Friends, Found Family, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Jaskier | Dandelion Has Feelings, Jaskier | Dandelion Has a Past, Jaskier | Dandelion Whump, Minor Character Death, No Smut, Non-Human Jaskier | Dandelion, Not Beta Read, Platonic Relationships, Protective Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg, Tags May Change, We die like Renfri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:15:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23916622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRealDanniX/pseuds/TheRealDanniX
Summary: The journey to Kaer Morhen is long and lonely with only Yennefer for company, but, when his family and his past decide to halt their trip Jaskier finds himself grateful for the absence of his Wolf and Lion cub.Yennefer can't figure out what is going on with the bard, but she will protect him if it comes to it.
Relationships: Jaskier | Dandelion & Yennefer z Vengerbergu | Yennefer of Vengerberg
Series: Adventures in Mind Reading [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1702603
Comments: 41
Kudos: 598





	1. A New Destination

**Author's Note:**

> Is Jaskier hiding something? Always! Is he human? Maybe! Do I really know what's going on? Nope!  
> There will be flashbacks and some discussion of 'happy' childhoods. 
> 
> Please Please Please heed the tags. First chapter doesn't have much, but the next will. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy. Should be three chapters and should be complete by Sunday but sometimes things happen, so I hope it will be fine. 
> 
> Drop a kudos and a comment to let me know what y'all think. I love hearing from y'all and I'm gonna try and respond to all the comments from now on.

Jaskier did not want to separate. He wanted the four of them to go to Kaer Morhen together, but he knew why they couldn’t. What he didn’t understand was the way they separated. It made more sense in his mind to have Yennefer portal herself and Ciri to the keep while Jaskier and Geralt followed behind with the horses. Of course, that assumed that Yennefer could portal, which, he found out, she couldn’t at the moment. Something that she refused to talk about and having to do with Nilfgard and the battle of Sodden. Instead of what they all agreed was the best plan, they went with Yennefer’s plan. Ciri and Geralt would set off three days before Yennefer and Jaskier. They would take different paths, the Witcher through Aedirn and Kaedwen while Yennefer took Jaskier the long way, through Temeria and Redania and Caingorn. Jaskier was not looking forward to the trip.

He understood that they needed to move. Yennefer’s house had wards, sure, but they were nothing compared to those protecting the Witchers’ Keep, and, due to Jaskier’s injuries, they had been in the same place for six weeks. Careful as they were, Nilfgard was sure to be zeroing in on them. He even understood why Ciri should be traveling with Geralt and why they had a shorter path. What Jaskier did not understand is the insistence of the other three that he travel with Yennefer, rather than the two of them traveling separately. No matter how many times he asked, the responses were the same. Thoughts and words were unclear, only really conveying concern for his safety. That is how he ended up far too close to his hometown traveling with Yennefer of Vengerberg. At least they had horses.

“I did not think you knew how to be quiet, Bard,” Yennefer said. They had been on the road together for several days and the separation from his Wolf and Lion was starting to weigh on him.

“I did manage to avoid talking for three weeks,” Jaskier snapped. His heart was not in the banter.

“No, you failed at not talking for three weeks and often had to be spelled to achieve such a goal.” The violet-eyed sorceress slowed her mount, a beautiful black stallion called Crow. A far better name for a horse than Roach, in Jaskier’s opinion, even if it was still objectively bad. His own mount was a white gelding was called Pegasus. A regal name for a noble animal. “In all seriousness, Bard, what is on your mind that has sealed your lips?”

“If you must know, I’m not used to traveling with such quiet. I know that I traveled with a taciturn Witcher for decades before I was cursed, but for the last few years, there hasn’t been much of a quiet moment in my mind. Not on the road. After I was cursed, we didn’t really separate except for Winter, and I wasn’t traveling then. Well, not much. Just to Oxenfurt and wherever we set for our meeting place afterward.” Jaskier sighed. “I’m afraid that I’ve gotten quite used to the running commentary from my dear Witcher’s head.”

“I see,” Yennefer said. “You understand why we couldn’t risk you being with them, do you not?”

“Alas, my purple-eyed friend, I cannot read _your_ mind. What exactly are you saying?”

“You are a risk, Jaskier,” Yen sighed. “Your curse makes them vulnerable. You can read their minds and your mind can be easily read. If the three of you were captured together, it would be very bad. They care for you as much as you care for them. If any mage of Nilfgard knew the curse you carry, they would be able to bring Cirilla and Geralt to their knees. You cannot travel with them, because if they ever saw you in danger, they would put you first when Ciri should be the priority.”

“I would never endanger her like that.”

“Then you should be glad that you are here instead of with them,” Yennefer smirked at him. Jaskier, being the mature, grown man that he was, stuck his tongue out at her. Then he pulled out his lute and began playing through his newest composition. It was mostly just a tune at that moment, but the words would come as he played over the chords. Yennefer was clearly annoyed by the song, so that was positive. In the days that followed, they had this same conversation several times over, always ending with the same tune.

Two weeks later, entering Redania, he still didn’t have words, and annoying Yennefer with the tune was no longer satisfying. He wanted to write it, but the words kept tumbling away from him. Traveling with Yennefer was, while apparently uninspiring, not altogether awful. She had the same attraction to staying in towns that Jaskier had, and she was surprisingly willing to have conversations with him. There was one occasion where they had spent an entire day going back and forth about the properties of certain herbs, debating their usefulness. (Jaskier had learned more about magic than he had wanted to that day when Yennefer had plucked a buttercup and caused it to wilt and turn black while his lute had hovered away from him.) Somewhere between his injury and entering Redania, he had formed a tentative friendship with the Mage, one made of bickering and clever debates.

Redania looked as he remembered, and he told Yennefer such. He talked about his first journey through this section of the continent, when he had first left home. “I suppose the last time I was here was before I had even heard the name Geralt of Rivia,” Jaskier chuckled. “Hard to imagine my life without him now. All I had with me was my lute and a bit of coin I nicked from my father.”

“What does that mean, Bard?” Yennefer turned in her saddle, frowning at him. It almost seemed like she was concerned.

“It’s a story, Yen. It doesn’t matter.” He waved it off, putting on a smile. Then he changed the subject. He shouldn’t have said anything at all. Thankfully, Yennefer didn’t press on that topic. Maybe he’d be able to tell her once they were out of the country. If she ever asked, that is. Yennefer wasn’t nearly as curious as Ciri was. He tried to let that settle him, but something felt wrong. He had known it would be uncomfortable, traveling so close to his childhood home, but Yennefer’s path would take them out of Redania in only two days. He could manage that. They stopped in the first town they came too. Jaskier didn’t know the name, but it didn’t really matter. After stabling their horses and acquiring a room for the night, Jaskier and Yennefer found themselves in the local tavern. The bard arraigned for food and drinks in exchange for songs and quickly went about dancing and playing and singing, avoiding the songs of the White Wolf. He played for hours, always keeping an eye on the Mage lurking in the corner. How he ended up traveling with so many people who licked brooding and lurking he really doesn’t understand.

After his set, he slipped in next to the mage, taking some of her wine for himself. She glared at him but made no effort to stop him. “You’ve been acting odd today, Bard,” she said. Ah, that may be why he got away with swiping the wine.

“It’s nothing, my dear sorceress.” He waved her off with a smile.

“I know you, Jaskier. There is something off,” she hissed. Her violet eyes dug into him like blades, dissecting his thoughts. “What is it about Redania that makes you so uncomfortable? It can’t be a jilted lover or cuckold lord. You flaunt your escapades and hold no fear for them these days. Yet, you have been acting strangely since we enter the borders. So, speak, Bard. Tell your story.” She took her cup back and shoved a plate of food in his direction.

Jaskier sighed. “If you must know, we are a bit too close to my family home for me to be comfortable. Geralt can tell you that I have not been back to Redania since I began traveling with him, even if he can’t tell you why. As I said earlier, it is nothing, my friend. In two days, we’ll be out of the country and it will not matter.” He tried to smile again. “Now, I believe it is quite late and I lost my appetite. I’ll see you in the morning.” Jaskier shoved the food back to Yennefer and left for the inn. He didn’t make it. Not for the first time in his life, he found himself bound and gagged by soldiers wearing his family’s crest.


	2. Blues and Greens and Violets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Reference child abuse, violence (spelled out)   
> Please be aware. 
> 
> I was in a writing mood today so I hope this is to your liking. It's still looking like three chapters. I promise y'all will get BAMF Yen in the next chapter. We will also get some nice comfort and Yen&Jask bonding and some more mind reading.
> 
> If you want specifics on what Jask is, I'll spell it out in the endnotes. 
> 
> Please drop a comment or kudos to let me know how y'all are liking this.

Yennefer let the bard leave, finishing her food and wine before following him. He was acting strangely, yes, but family can sometimes make people do that. She could understand. She didn’t quite understand the pained look that crossed the Bard’s face when he mentioned his family. Yet. He was kind to her, and she had even started to think of him as a friend. Besides, no one could get Jaskier to truly shut up. He’d feel compelled to talk about it eventually. With that thought, she left the tavern heading for the inn. She hid her face, her eyes in particular, when a group of soldiers guided a carriage down the road going the opposite direction. They weren’t Nilfgard, but it was better not to take chances. In the end, it had worked in her favor to avert her eyes. Otherwise, she might have missed the lute lying just inside an alley.

Something horrible and foreign twisted in her gut as she lifted the instrument from the cobblestone street. It was clearly Jaskier’s. It nearly vibrated with the same energy the Bard often had when performing with beautiful elven craftsmanship. She let out a string of curses that would have made a Witcher blush. Someone had the damn Bard again. She charged back to the inn, gathering their items and quickly packing them back onto Pegasus and Crow. She put most of the packs on Pegasus so that both horses could move faster. Then she tied a lead rope from Pegasus to Crow and urged the horses out of the city, in the direction she had seen the carriage and guards going. After all, the streets had been almost empty and somehow Jaskier seemed to attract enemies with armies. She wasn’t fast enough. By the time she had caught up the carriage, it was disappearing behind a fierce-looking gate into a large estate.

What really concerned her was the crest on the gate.

“ _It matches the ring that Jaskier keeps on a chain around his neck.”_

It had to be his family crest. Hopefully, that meant the bard would be alive when she found him, but it created so many questions. Questions she had always had but had never asked. What was Jaskier’s given name? Why had he left? He was clearly a noble, but who would give up a title to travel with a Witcher? Why did they want him back? Yennefer pushed the thoughts from her mind. She could grill the bard once she knew he was safe.

_______________________________________________  
Jaskier was not unconscious when they shoved him into the carriage. He was bound tightly enough that he couldn’t move or speak, but they didn’t bother to blindfold him. He already knew where they were taking him. Inside the carriage, he was sat across from his sister. She was unbound and glaring sharply at him. “Julian. We thought you may pass through soon, seeking safety from the war,” she hissed. Amelia folded her arms across her golden gown. Her blue eyes were darker than his and she made no effort to hide the sharpness of her teeth when she smiled at him. The smiled put him on edge. “Mother wanted to see you. After all, you are family.” Another fanged smile. “She’ll be so ashamed to see you looking so _human._ ” She spat the word as though it was poison on her tongue. Then she settled back in her seat and made no other sound. Amelia reminded him a lot of Yennefer, with her sharp smiles and biting remarks. Though he found he despised his sister far more than Yennefer. Surprisingly, thinking of the Mage twisted his stomach. He found himself worried that she may try something and get herself hurt by his family. Even more surprising, the thought of her hurt made him feel sick.

All in all, it was a short trip. When he heard the gate of the family home opening, he resigned himself to his fate. “ _It matches the ring that Jaskier keeps on a chain around his neck.”_ The thought made his whole body tense. He knew enough by this point to know it wasn’t his. He could even tell how far away it had come from, with how quiet it was in his mind. It was a familiar touch, not shocking as it had been with Geralt or Ciri. He knew the mind the thought had been pulled from. He had felt it in his own mind, gleaning information often enough. It was still surprising that he loved the mage, though it had to be true. He forced all thoughts of his curse from his mind when he caught the look on Amelia’s face. The carriage came to a stop and he was unceremoniously dragged into the manor and to his old room.

It looked as it always had. One half of the room held a bed and a dresser, likely still full of his old doublets and formal attire. Unfortunately, it would still fit. In the grand scheme of things, though he’d been gone for twenty years, he hadn’t been gone long. The other half of the room was taken by a pool of cool water that he knew was kept constantly fresh by pipes that came from the river that ran the length of their lands. He also knew that it would likely be the only water he got for the foreseeable future. His parents knew him well enough that they would starve him out until he gave in to what they wanted. Based on what Amelia had said, he’d be forced into the water in the morning, likely forced to shift for the first time since traveling with Geralt. He laid on the bed, recalling a time when he had foolishly thought pleasing them would make the pain end.

_Julian was born with the gills and fangs of his mother. The scales didn’t come until he was seven. That was when he shifted for the first time. His mother had been disappointed. He didn’t have her wings like Amelia did. He looked too pretty, too much like his father. His scales were the wrong color. Instead of the deep green of his mother, his scales were blue. Amelia had made his mother proud, embracing the siren parts and snuffing the human parts as much as possible. Julian couldn’t. He hated his scales. He hated his fangs. He hated his gills._

_When he found his Voice at fourteen, his mother had been almost impressed. It was the one part of being a siren Amelia had ever failed at. Julian Sang for his mother every day, hoping it would be enough. It never was. The painful cuts along his torso that would become littered scars could attest to that. When he was seventeen, his mother forced him to Sing to his father while Amelia drowned him. Part of him hurt. Part of him was surprised that his father had been alive until that point. Then again, his father had lands and titles. He had to be old enough to receive them. That night, Julian snuck into his father’s room and stole his coin purse. Then he ran. Hiding fangs and gills and scales and Voice forever. Julian let himself die that night, falling beneath the water like his father. Jaskier had a lute and a half-empty coin purse as he finally left Redania forever._

Jaskier shuddered the memory away, curling in on himself. Yennefer would be coming for him. He knew that. He had heard her. She would come and tear his family to shreds if she had too. After all, that’s how she shows she cares. He chuckled to himself. Maybe the Mage would even get him out before he had to shift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jask is part siren. His mom is a full siren and looks like the ones from the Witcher 3 game, with the wings and stuff, but can transform into a human form like a lamia. Jask's father is a full human, enchanted by his mother. 
> 
> ****SPOILER BELOW****
> 
> Jask actually does have wings, they just hadn't come in before he left. He's what we'll call a late bloomer. He still looks far too human in his full shift than his sister or mother.   
> Amelia doesn't have a Voice and Jask hasn't used his since he left. For now.


	3. Troubling Scales and Spells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops. I don't know what happened. There was a plan. I swear there was a plan.
> 
> And we almost made it to Yen's BAMF moment! But the story wanted to add in a little more Jask insecurity and whump and maybe a little feral bard. 
> 
> Last chapter will be up today if I keep this up. And I likely will since sleep is avoiding me. 
> 
> I realize I'm just dumping this on you, but I hope y'all are enjoying it at least.   
> Let me know in the comments!  
> Yall are amazing!

Yennefer had tied up Crow and Pegasus outside of the walls as she crept into the manor, being mindful of the soldiers stomping around. It had taken most of the night to get this far and the sky was turning grey, warning of the coming sun. It would be a battle in the light of day to get her bard out, but she wasn’t too concerned with that. She had to be sure they didn’t hurt him again. Somewhere along the lines that annoying peacock had become a part of her family and she’d be damned if she let him go. She crept quietly through the marble hallways, avoiding guards and anything else moving at this hour.

_“I need to reserve my chaos,”_ she found herself thinking, recalling the words Tissaia had told her. She had to hold back until she found him. Something prickled in her mind, familiar and new all at once. _“Jaskier, can you hear me?”_ She reached out with her mind seeking the bard’s. She brushed against it and felt the familiar music that was Jaskier. She followed the tune until it led her to a door adorned with strange blue runes. They didn’t fight her when she opened the door, but she felt them and their purpose. Aimed at the Bard. She frowned. Jaskier was sitting on a bed just inside the door, staring at her like she was a composition he couldn’t quite put words to. Yennefer closed the door and smirked at him. She went to speak, but Jaskier was off the bed in a flash, covering her mouth and shaking his head frantically.

_“I know you can hear me, Yen. If you talk, they’ll hear you. They’ll find you.”_ Jaskier fixed his cornflower blue eyes on her. _“I can hear you too. With the curse.”_ She smiled under his hand. Something echoed in the hallway and Jaskier went pale. _“They’re coming. Hide. Under the bed.”_ He pulled her over to the bed. _“Just, please. I can’t leave with that spell on the door. We need a plan and I can’t let them find you before we have one.”_ Yennefer let herself be ushered under the bed. Much as she hated to admit it, she needed to know what she was dealing with before she started a fight.

_“Jaskier, if they hurt you…”_ She let her thoughts trail off into several different spells she could weave at the moment. He rolled his eyes at her before shifting the sheets on the bed to hide her from view. A moment later, the door crashed open and two sets of steps entered the room.

“Hello, Julian,” one woman said. She sounded haughty, and, though Yen couldn't see it, it sounded as though she grimaced when she said the name.

“It’s Jaskier, actually,” the bard snapped. Something hissed. “Put your fangs away, Amelia. I travel with Sorceresses and Witchers. You don’t scare me anymore.” One of them slammed him into the bed.

“Now, now, Amelia, you know the rules. No roughing him up in this form,” the first woman said. Amelia stepped back, presumably letting Jaskier stand again.

 _“This form?”_ Yennefer thought.

_“You’ll see soon enough, Yen. If you’re looking, I mean.”_ Even in his head, Jaskier’s voice was filled with dread. Jaskier was dragged away from the bed to the other side of the room where there was some kind of pool.

“May I, Mother?” It was the second voice, Amelia who spoke.

“Show me your skills, dear,” the first woman, Amelia’s mother, hissed. Yennefer shifted as quietly as she could to see to the pool. She saw Jaskier’s face just as Amelia pulled him back with her into the pool. Water flew everywhere as Jaskier fought to get out of Amelia’s grip, but, eventually, the water stilled.

_“JASKIER!!!”_ Yennefer froze for a moment, desperately searching for his mind before revealing herself. Chaos tingled in her fingers as her anger built.

 _“I’m okay Yen.”_ His thought stopped her from attacking. Jaskier’s voice was different, but the splashing in the water resumed, soaking most of the room. Suddenly, two winged figures burst from the water struggling with each other.

_“Sirens,”_ Yennefer thought. One of the creatures got the upper hand, pinning the other underneath them. The one on top had deep green scales running along their torso and arms and tail. Their wings stretched behind her like a crowning victory catching the first rays of the sun. The other siren struggled, twisting back and forth. Their wings are smashed under them, but they are such a clear blue that they seem to glow in the growing light. The siren tilted their head back and Yen saw his eyes. _“Jaskier?”_ His face twisted into a grimace as the green siren dug her claws into his neck.

_“Cover your ears, Yen.”_ Jaskier stopped twisting and watched her until she covered her ears. Then he opened his mouth and started Singing. Through her hands, she couldn’t hear him clearly, but she felt the Song vibrated through her. The green siren, who had to be Amelia, looked dazed. Jaskier used that and threw her off him. His tail shifted back into legs and he staggered away, finally letting the Song fall off. He hadn’t shifted back fully, and Yennefer could see scales the same blue as his eyes dotting his arms and his face. Thankfully, it seemed the magic of a siren shifting spared their clothing and he still had his trousers on. Amelia shook off her daze and glared at Jaskier.

“Amelia,” the other woman said. Amelia immediately relaxed, shifting back into a humanish form. “You’ve grown Julian. Perhaps there’s hope for you yet.” Something about the way she said it sent a hard shudder through Jaskier. “Come Amelia. Leave your brother for now. There will be plenty of time for that.” Yennefer shifted back, staying out of sight as the two women left the room. Jaskier let out a growl.

“Form a thought, Yen. You’re spiraling,” he muttered. His voice still sounded wrong. Not quite his. Yennefer extricated herself from under the bed and looked at her bard. He stood where his sister had left him, soaking wet and not really human-looking. He was still covered in scales, and she could see gills fading from his neck. His eyes were closed, and he pinched the bridge of his nose like he was trying to block out something. Probably her thoughts if his earlier comment was anything to go by. “You can talk now. They won’t be listening after that.”

“You’re a siren,” Yennefer said dumbly.

“Half,” he corrected. “My mother.” He left his hand fall from his face and looked over at her. His eyes were glowing, and his pupils were slits. “It may take me a bit to get it all under control again. I haven’t shifted in years, and it’s always worse when I’m forced to shift.”

“Does Geralt know?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I mean, I’m fairly certain he knows I’m not human, but I have no idea if he’s tried to figure it out past that.” He smiled bitterly, his teeth looking too white and too sharp.

“Then it doesn’t matter,” Yennefer decided. “We need to get out of here and out of Redania.” She turned away from the siren and began unwinding the spell on the door. Jaskier was quiet. It may have been he was worried about her reaction or maybe he could hear her focus shift in her mind. His presence was still there, tickling against her consciousness like a song stuck in her head. It was oddly comforting. When the wood cracked and the runes faded, she turned back to Jaskier. He looked mostly human again, with his eyes being the only thing that still looked off.

“Yen,” he started. She held up her hand.

“One question before we go, Bard. Have they killed people?” Yennefer tried to hide the anger that had been simmering since he had gone into the water. When Jaskier nodded, she frowned. “Then I will feel no qualms about killing them.” She turned and marched out into the hallway, chaos building under her skin.


	4. Blood and Families

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is! Probably. There is a small chance that I'll write an epilogue with just Yen and Jask, but I haven't decided yet. 
> 
> Let me know if that's something y'all'd want in the comments.
> 
> At least one more work in this verse where we get the whole gang at Kaer Morhen and we get all the fluff, cause, let's face it, that's what Jask deserves. 
> 
> I love hearing from y'all so drop a kudos or comment to let me know what y'all think.   
> Y'all are amazing!

Jaskier stumbled after Yennefer, still feeling unnatural on his legs. He could still feel too many teeth in his mouth and the itching feeling of scales under his chemise. He wanted more time before escaping. Time to process what he’d just done. To process Yen and her reaction and her thoughts joining his curse. When he had realized she would be in the room for Amelia and his mother’s first attack, it had struck him with dread. She would know, without a doubt, what he was. That he was a creature playing at being a human. The moment he went under the water and started losing consciousness without air was still confusing. He had heard her scream in her mind. He could feel the power simmering within her as he left himself shift. She cared for him. She may hate him, but she cared enough that she was about to explode at the thought of losing him. It didn’t make sense. He loved her, yes, but that doesn’t mean that she should ever have loved him back. Not in any way. Especially not when she saw his siren form. Not when she heard his Song. Yet her swirling thoughts afterward were still of concern and care and revenge, not disgust. She had dismissed him being a siren the same way she would dismiss him snarking about her clothing. Then she had gone to work on the enchantment on his door, and he just didn’t know what to say. Even as he followed her down the hall, her thoughts were angry and violent. Like Geralt’s in a fight.

Yennefer was clearly planning on killing whoever got in her way as she marched out the front door, with Jaskier following close behind her. Whenever a guard or servant saw the pair of them, one look at the violet eyes filled with rage sent them sputtering away. It was no surprise really when they ran into about twenty guards blocking the doors to the main hall, where Jaskier had no doubt his mother and sister were waiting. Yennefer didn’t stop moving. She drew a dagger that Jaskier had definitely not seen her carrying and summoned a blast of air, causing general disarray among the guards. _“Stay behind me, little bird.”_ She stepped into the ranks slicing and blasting. She had taken down half of them before Jaskier could really comprehend what she was doing. When a guard tried for Jaskier over her, she cast a spell, freezing him before she threw her dagger into the guard’s throat. Jaskier staggered back, gagging.

Yennefer pulled a sword from a fallen guard and cut down two more before she summoned a flame and sent it curling around four others. The last three crowded around the door as if they could stop her if she wanted to get through. He couldn’t see her face from where he was standing, but he saw the tilt of her head when she looked at them. He knew that look. It was the same look she had when she knew something he didn’t. It was the look she had when she had already won. “Open the door, and I may let you live,” she said. She wouldn’t. They opened the door and she stepped forward quickly, impaling two on the sword. She turned to the last man who stood staring at her covered in the blood of his fellow soldier. A word in elder and the man’s eyes rolled back into his head as he crashed into the floor. The mage looked back at Jaskier. Not a drop of blood or speck of ash was on her dress.

_“Come on, Songbird. We’re not done yet.”_ Yen smiled darkly. Jaskier kept following her, though why she felt the need to include him in the carnage he did not understand. Inside, his mother and sister hovered above them in their full forms. Jaskier felt the twinge in his back where his own wings had been not too long ago. (That still surprised him, no matter how grateful he’d been when he blasted out of the water.)

“Julian,” his mother hissed. “You dare defy us with this human?” Jaskier didn’t get a chance to respond before both sirens let out a gods’ awful screech, harmonizing horribly. Jaskier covered Yen’s ears as her mind and body screamed at the assault. Once her head was protected, Jaskier screamed back, letting his Voice go. It knocked Amelia out of the air, slamming one of her wings harshly against the ground. His mother faired better, but her own scream was choked off over the noise of Jaskier’s. When he finally stopped, gasping deeply, he could feel the scales and fangs and gills again pulling at him.

_“My turn, Songbird.”_ Yennefer shrugged out of Jaskier’s grip. Then she threw a borrowed dagger at Amelia. It found its target, burying itself into the siren’s neck. His mother wailed, her Song garbling with the pain of loss. Yennefer faltered only slightly before unleashing a yell of her own throwing flames at the other. It knocked his mother into a wall, burns wrapped her arms, and made holes in her wings. She screamed again, weaker this time, and dove at Yennefer, claws scraping for purchase in the mage’s skin. Yennefer pulled another blade from her person and drove it into the siren’s eye. (Jaskier made a mental note to try and find all the blades on her person at some point.) _“Die.”_

“You are done hurting my bard,” Yennefer growled. She pulled the blade out and slashed across the other’s throat. Jaskier’s mother fell back with a sicking gurgle and thud. Then the Mage turned to the Bard. “Come on.” She led him out of the main hall, through the garden and out of the main gate. Their horses were waiting not too far away with all of their things. Jaskier couldn’t help the noise he made when he saw his lute safely strapped to Pegasus. Yennefer mounted Crow and looked at him expectantly, but Jaskier hesitated.

“Uh, I suppose you want to remove my curse now,” he muttered. “Or perhaps tell me to run off back to the ocean or something.” He picked at his chemise.

“No. I want you to dress yourself properly and get on the damn horse,” Yennefer huffed.

“Seriously?”

_“Silly bird.”_

“Yes, Jaskier. We don’t get to choose our family. Nor do we get to choose who we love. Now get on the damn horse or I will force you to fly to Kaer Morhen.” She steered Crow to the road. Jaskier quickly mounted Pegasus and followed her.

“I don’t think I could do that if I tried,” he muttered. Then he raised his voice a bit. “I’m a siren, Yen. You truly don’t mind?”

She didn’t say anything but… _“Silly stupid bird.”_

“And what about the curse?” Jaskier pressed. “You always seemed a bit hesitant about it. I mean, not two weeks ago you said that it made Geralt and Ciri vulnerable. Aren’t you, I don’t know, worried that you are now included in it?”

Yen sighed. “Jaskier, unless you are going to say something that I don’t already know, please be quiet. I have been up all night trying to follow the sirens and guards that took you.”

“You mean my family.”

“They are not your family, no matter what blood pumps through your veins.”

_“We are.”_


End file.
